This inspiring and emotional memoir chronicles the journey of “the hero hiding behind the victim,” aiming to reclaim her cape through healing, spirituality, and a family's love. Exploring the ramifications of childhood abuse on a young woman's growth and journey into adulthood, Reclaiming Wonder Woman is the story of Windy Bond in her own words. As Bond reflects on her childhood and continued growth into adulthood with children of her own, she recounts how "I saw my innocence instead of my shame, my bravery instead of my cowardice, my struggle instead of my failures." Through exploration of multiple spiritual avenues—Christianity, Reiki healing, Vipassana meditation, and yoga—Bond actively strives to never let the darkness of her past overshadow the light in her present and her future. Bond warns early on that this account may be triggering for readers, as she unflinchingly examines enduring sexual abuse at the hands of an uncle and, later, the husband of an extended family member over years. Compounded with the death of her younger brother, Willie, at the age of 8, Bond witnesses her family beginning to unravel as her parents retreat from each other and handle grief in different ways. Turning to drugs and alcohol, Bond began to see a parallel between herself and her father, and ultimately performed the hard work to take a different path. Eventually Bond finds solace and healing through her own family of four—her husband, her son, and her daughter, and her connection to her spiritual journey.
Bond writes, touchingly, "This is all that really matters. The four of us holding on to one another through this life.” Reclaiming Wonder Woman is a hero's tale of survival—a woman who refuses to let the traumatizing abuse of her childhood stop her from achieving her dreams and finding her purpose in life. Readers who relish triumph over trauma will find this story resonant.
Takeaway: Stirring memoir about healing from childhood abuse
Comparable Titles: Cupcake Brown’s A Piece of Cake, Gemma Carey’s No Matter Our Wreckage.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
